


i'm bigger than these bones

by g0ldendays



Category: Formula 2 RPF, Motorsport RPF
Genre: Formula 2, Formula 3, Gen, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2021-01-16 06:55:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21266903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/g0ldendays/pseuds/g0ldendays
Summary: Callum takes a road trip. Marcus joins him.





	i'm bigger than these bones

**Author's Note:**

  * For [eliotthawke](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eliotthawke/gifts).

> I would like to clarify before we get started that this is **not** a ship fic. There's no romance to be found, just buddies going on a road trip. If that's what you're looking for - great! If not, you're welcome to turn back around! Also, in this fic, Marcus has just joined the FDA instead of having been with them for years. I know he's not new to the FDA, but in this fic, he is.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't know these kids in real life, this is probably not an accurate portrayal of them, I own nothing and I'm not associated with them.
> 
> This is for the lovely eliotthawke who inspired this fic (along with [this shot](https://callumilott.tumblr.com/post/188721351870/fda-camp-rome-marcus-armstrong-callum-ilott)) and helped with ideas! I hope it lives up to your expectations kdjfkd love you!

It had been a difficult few months, Callum had to admit that. His season hadn’t exactly gone to plan and after having to settle for third in GP3 last year, he had hoped to be a bit higher up the standings in F2 this season. To say he was frustrated was an understatement. On top of that, he had gotten an assignment from Ferrari. That wasn’t exactly news, he got assignments more often but usually they consisted of media duties, or testing a car. They did not involve picking up a kid in London on his way to Rome. He was still fuming just thinking about it. He was a professional racing driver, not a cab driver. “Just drop him off in Rome when you get there, he’s new to the FDA so you two can bond on the road,” he had been told.

Truth be told, Callum liked driving by himself. It was when other people were in the car with him that he got annoyed, even by his family. But he could hardly say no to an assignment from Ferrari so here he was, on his way to London with an address written on a scrap of paper in the passenger seat. Coming off the back of a frustrating season, he’d decided to use his break over the winter to take a road trip by himself. His car was big enough to bring plenty of things and he’d be in Rome in time to join the FDA camp as they got ready for the new season. So, on Boxing Day, he had packed his stuff, said bye to his family and got in his car for a long, long drive down to Italy. In total, it would be a twenty hour drive but he would need breaks so he’d calculated he’d need about 3 days to reach Rome. A great plan, until the unforeseen passenger popped up.

He never should’ve told Mick he was going to drive down, because he was convinced Mick was the person who suggested to Ferrari that he could pick up the new kid on the way. It was convenient, they wouldn’t have to pay for a flight and Callum and the new kid would be best friends by the time they arrived in Rome! Two birds, one stone. But Callum disagreed, and he was determined to show Ferrari they had made a mistake. Maybe it was petty, but he was annoyed, grumpy and that didn’t improve on his drive down to London. Having already muttered many a curse word at the terrible drivers in London, Callum finally arrived at the location he’d been given. There was a kid outside with a big suitcase, bundled up in a huge coat that had to be 3 sizes too big for him and a bright red Ferrari hat. Callum rolled his eyes.

“Hey!” the kid said cheerfully as Callum got out. “Are you my ride? I’m Marcus Armstrong! You must be Callum.” He held out his hand with a bright smile.

“I am,” Callum said in a flat tone, doing his best to ignore the way Marcus’s face fell slightly when he noticed Callum’s tone. He shook his hand shortly. “You can put your things in the boot and you might want to take off your jacket since we don’t live on the North Pole and my car actually has heating.” He was expecting a comment any second about the fact that he drove a BMW and not an Alfa Romeo. Marcus’s eyes flashed to the make and then to Callum, but he was wise enough not to say anything. Hm, that worked in his favor.

“Uh, the passenger door is locked,” Marcus said, gesturing towards the door. Now that he had taken off the comically big coat, he wasn’t much smaller than Callum himself. Ironically, his jeans seemed to be a few sizes too small and Callum wondered for a brief moment if he inherited old clothes from a sibling or if he was just terrible at getting his own sizing right.

“Guess you’ll have to climb in from my side,” Callum said with a straight face and for a second, Marcus believed him - Callum noticed it in the way he set his jaw and mentally prepared himself to make a fool out of himself in front of someone he was going to spend a lot of time with. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” He unlocked the door with a press on a button and they both got into the car. God, he was going to have some fun with this kid.

“So, Callum,” Marcus started. From the corner of his peripheral, Callum saw a dimple appear and mentally braced himself for whatever question was going to follow. “You don’t seem very excited to be picking up a new teammate in London.” Now that was a question he didn’t have a solid answer to. If he said no, he’d set himself up as someone who was unapproachable and mean and it would be a very uncomfortable few years - however long either of them stayed with the FDA. If he said yes, it was clearly a lie and that would have pretty much the same result. Callum settled for a non-committal hum and turned on the radio. 

They were silent for a good thirty minutes as Callum attempted to leave London - traffic was a disaster this time of day. Or any day, really. “So uh, you’ve been with Prema for a while?” Callum attempted to break the silence once they were outside of London and he could hear himself think over the honking of other drivers. Marcus gave the same non-committal hum Callum had given him earlier and- okay, that was fair. He hadn’t exactly been open and welcoming either. “Look, I’m sorry about earlier. It’s just that you were kind of dropped on me when I wanted to have a road trip by myself,” Callum confessed. 

“I figured,” Marcus replied drily. “But I would’ve been fine taking a plane as well. It’s just that Ferrari insisted. I thought this was a good way to meet my new teammates.” God, now Callum really felt bad. “It’s fine, we don’t have to get along but you are going to be stuck with me for a while. Or you can drop me off at the nearest airport and I can book myself a flight, maybe Ferrari can cover the expenses for me.” This kid was doing a great job at making him feel terrible about the whole situation, even if he was still pissed about it. But it wasn’t like Marcus could help it either. 

“No, no.” Callum sighed. “It’s fine, I’m sorry. I get mean when plans change unexpectedly. It’s not my best quality.” And that seemed to have done the trick. That sunny smile returned to Marcus’s face and before Callum knew it, they had reached Dover where they had to catch the boat to Calais. They could’ve taken the train - which would have been much faster - but Callum often enjoyed the views the ferry offered and even if it was the dead of winter, it was still fun to look out the windows while they had a cup of coffee. Boarding was pretty fast and they were out of the car before they knew it.

“Coffee?” Callum offered as they found themselves a seat somewhere near the window. 

“That sounds good,” Marcus agreed. He seemed cold now that they had left the car and its impeccable heating. His ridiculously big coat was still in the boot, even though they had brought their suitcases. Callum was quick to get them both a big cup of coffee and noticed Marcus using it to warm his hands, blowing on it occasionally to help it cool faster. The silence between them was a bit tense, despite Callum’s earlier apology, and he knew he had to set it right.

“Start over?” He held out his hand for Marcus to take. “I’m Callum, I drive in F2 and I’ve been with the FDA for two years.”

Marcus set down his coffee and smiled at him, shaking his hand. “I’m Marcus, I drive in F3 and I hope I’ll be with the FDA for a long time.”

Marcus is surprisingly easy to get along with and Callum finds that he doesn’t mind that much now that they’re being friendly. They turn out to have some common interests, besides racing, and the ferry ride passes surprisingly quickly. “I have to ask,” Callum said at some point during the conversation, “Why is your coat so ridiculously big?” 

It startled a laugh out of Marcus, who clearly was expecting another question. “It’s comfortable. And they didn’t have my size, so I went one size up.”

“One size?” Callum exclaimed. “It looks like 3 sizes.”

* * *

Once in Calais, it was getting dark fast and Callum didn’t fancy driving in the dark much, so he suggested looking for a hotel somewhere and Marcus was quick to agree. The coffee kept them awake but they were both tired and getting hungry. Callum parked at a hotel just outside the city, praying they’d still have a room with 2 single beds. It didn’t have to be fancy, as long as they could shower and crash. “Do you speak French?” Marcus asked and Callum shook his head with an growing sense of impending doom. “I’m sure they’ll speak English.”

Famous last words. They did not speak English. Or so they learned. Callum had been gesturing at the front desk while Marcus laughed quietly behind him, trying to explain they needed a room with 2 single beds. The girl had smiled brightly, nodded and entered the information from Callum’s passport into the system, before handing him a key. She had also placed a card in front of him that said ‘dinner until 9 pm’ in English, so Callum had had a good feeling about the whole thing.

“Uh,” Marcus said intelligently when he opened the door with the keycard. 

“What?” Callum said, dragging his suitcase into the room backwards before bumping into him. 

“These are not 2 single beds.” Marcus was right, Callum saw when he turned around. It was a room with a double bed. “Please tell me this wasn’t the only available room.”

“I don’t know, maybe she just misunderstood what I was saying,” Callum tried but he couldn’t help, he started chuckling. “You have to admit this is a little funny.”

Marcus looked like he wanted to argue but clearly also saw the humor in the situation because he also had to laugh. “I’ll go downstairs and ask them if they have another room.” And the door shut behind him. Callum sat down on the edge of the bed and heaved a sigh. This sounded like nothing was going to go their way on this road trip, and he only met Marcus just this afternoon. Ferrari was probably right, this was a great way to instantly bond with someone. He wasn’t so sure they had ‘sharing a double bed’ in mind, however, when they insisted he pick Marcus up in London.

“I have good news and bad news,” Marcus announced as soon as the door swung open several minutes later. “Good news, I found someone who speaks English. Bad news, this is the last available room for tonight. More good news, they have pizza and I’m starving.”

“So what you’re saying is that we’re stuck sleeping in the same bed tonight?” Callum said. Marcus nodded, looking a bit too cheerful about it. “I’m not sleeping on the floor.”

“Good, me neither. Listen, it’s a big bed and neither of us are very big guys, so I’m sure it won’t be an issue. Let’s get pizza in the restaurant downstairs.”

* * *

“You kicked me in the shin,” Marcus whispered when Callum turned to his other side. “Stop tossing and turning!”

“I can’t help it, this bed is very uncomfortable,” Callum whispered back. “And I don’t usually share beds.”

The moonlight that shone through the (very thin) curtains was reflected in Marcus’s eyes as Callum faced him now. Or maybe it was a streetlamp. Either way, he was able to see the frown on Marcus’s face as the other had completely burrito’ed himself into the duvet and only the top half of his face stuck out over the covers. “Well, your wiggling is very annoying. Why are we whispering?”

“I don’t know, you started it!” Callum shot back, wiggling around more until he was finally in a position that was comfortable. “We’re being weird about this,” he concluded after some minutes of silence. “I’m tired and we have a long drive ahead tomorrow.”

“You’re being weird about this,” it sounded from the other side of the bed, muffled as it was as the duvet covered Marcus’s mouth. “Okay, fine, we’re both being weird about it. It’s just two pals sharing a bed, what’s weird about that?”

“Considering we just met this afternoon, I wouldn’t exactly call it a regular Tuesday. But maybe you do this often, I wouldn’t know.” 

“Oh, shut up.” They were both quiet, Callum getting comfortable enough to be able to sleep. “Goodnight Callum.”

“Goodnight Marcus.”

* * *

They were up early the next morning, quite rested - to Callum’s surprise. He slept fine in unfamiliar places usually, but that wasn’t with someone next to him. It was good he felt rested though, because they had a long day ahead if they wanted to make it to Rome tomorrow evening. They took turns showering, obviously, and Callum bundled himself in the biggest hoodie he owned. It was still cold out but they’d have heating in the car.

“Do we eat breakfast at the restaurant or do we take something to go?” Marcus asked and Callum considered it for a second. 

“I think it’s best if we take it, we have to stop for lunch as well and we have to find a hotel to sleep tonight. Might as well get driving right away.” 

Marcus shrugged. “Sounds fair. We can switch after lunch if you want, no need for you to drive all the way when I have a license as well.”

“Sounds good,” Callum found himself saying, to his own surprise. He usually wasn’t very keen on having other people drive his car, but he wasn’t much opposed to Marcus driving it. Maybe sleeping in one bed creates that kind of bond - though that was a thought he’d rather not consider right now. His phone made a noise, indicating he had a new message. The name Mick flashed on the screen and he rolled his eyes.

Still alive? it said. The bastard. He knew very well he was the cause of Callum’s current woes, though said woes were definitely not as bad as expected. Callum decided to leave him on read. Think about that, you dipshit. “Mick,” he said when Marcus sent him a questioning look. “The traitor who told Ferrari I was taking a road trip.” He got a grin in response.

* * *

It was a surprisingly chill day, Callum had to admit. Marcus was pretty good company, he talked a lot but he picked up on it immediately if Callum wanted to listen to the radio for a while. The combination of chatting and silence was great - maybe even better than when Callum would’ve been driving by himself. Then he wouldn’t have had anyone to argue with, about things such as the best character to use for MarioKart (Peach, Callum firmly stated), or if chicken wings or chicken nuggets were better. Callum still insisted on wings, Marcus defended nuggets like his life depended on it. 

After they had stopped for lunch at the nearest McDonalds, they switched so Marcus would drive the rest of the way until they decided to stop for the night. “McDonalds might not have been the best idea,” Marcus groaned, shoveling more fries into his mouth. “But it is damn good.” 

“Who cares, we’re going to a training camp so I think we can afford some unhealthy food just this once,” Callum shrugged as he took a bite from his burger. “Cheat day and all that.” They resumed their trip quite soon after that and Callum discovered Marcus wasn’t actually a terrible singer, but he did like to exaggerate when singing along to the radio. After a particularly bad rendition of Britney Spears’s Toxic Callum decided he really did like this road trip after all.

“If we stop in Italy for the night, I can talk to the receptionist at least,” Marcus offered, some time later.

“You speak Italian?” Callum said, sounding a bit surprised.

“Years with Prema, mate,” Marcus chuckled. “You’d be surprised how quickly you pick up on it.”

“So that’s why Ferrari signed you, I see.” Marcus shoved him in the shoulder without taking his eyes off the road once and Callum protested loudly. The day passed quickly and it was already growing dark as they crossed the border into Italy. Marcus pulled over in the parking lot of a small hotel and looked at Callum. 

“Listen mate, if they only have a double bed available I’m taking it and you better not wiggle around so much. I’m tired, I’m hungry and I kinda wanna crawl into bed and sleep forever.”

“Agreed,” Callum yawned. “I hope they have pasta because I’m starving.” They went in and Callum tuned out while Marcus chatted with the receptionist in Italian. He didn’t catch a single word of it, but he did spot a sign that said ‘room service’ next to a picture of a plate of pasta, so that was good.

“They have a room with two single beds,” Marcus informed him not much later, dangling a key from his index finger. “What’re you looking at?” He followed Callum’s gaze to the sign and nodded. “We should drop off our stuff in the room first, then get dinner.”

Thankfully, it actually was a room with two single beds this time and Callum slept like a baby. After dinner, they had spent some more time chatting about life, their siblings and being away from home before going to sleep, both on their separate sides of the room. 

Driving in Italy isn’t very different from driving in France, apart from the road signs. They enjoyed the landscape as Callum drove them closer and closer to Rome, stopping at a small restaurant around lunchtime. “I wonder what the others are like,” Marcus said out loud after he’d finished his pizza. “I know most of them from Prema but not as well as I’d like to. Except for Robert, but I’ve been racing him all year.” 

“They’re chaotic,” Callum said, “but quite a funny bunch. FDA camps or activities are never boring, you’ll find out soon enough.” They can be serious one moment and absolutely lose it the next - Callum was no exception. After lunch, Marcus drove the rest of the way to Rome, getting more and more excited and nervous as they got closer to the city. Like any other big city, it was a nightmare to drive in Rome and Callum had to admit he was glad not to be driving right now, as Marcus cursed and stepped on the brakes again. 

Finally, they arrived at the location Callum had been given earlier in the week, late in the evening as it was already dark out. Callum was very much ready to crash into bed and he could see Marcus felt the same way, judging by the way he was rubbing his eyes and yawning. 

Thankfully, the welcoming committee consisted solely of their trainer and Mick, who Callum suspected had stayed up to see if they were both alive. The others had most likely gone to bed already. “Survived, did you?” Mick asked cheerfully and Callum gave him the finger. “Oh, come on, it wasn’t that bad.”

“It wasn’t terrible,” he said, glancing at Marcus from the corner of his eye - who had a smirk on his face.

He would never admit it to Mick, but these had been a great 3 days and Callum was actually glad Marcus had been shoved his way, or it would’ve taken him way longer to warm up to the Kiwi. Now, he was just very glad to have a new friend inside the FDA and someone else to cause mischief with.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Tumblr](https://callumilott.tumblr.com/) and join the junior series revolution!


End file.
